Bloomfield PD: Man Arrested After Grabbing Neighbor, Saying He Wanted To Rape Her

Michael Farrigon is accused of grabbing his neighbor and trying to get into her house.

A Bloomfield man who grabbed his neighbor and said he wanted to rape her was arrested after the woman’s father fired two rounds from his .44-caliber revolver to scare him off, police said.

Michael Farrigon, 43, who has a history of mental illness and drug abuse, according to police, faces a host of charges, including attempted first-degree sexual assault, first-degree unlawful restraint, assault, threatening, disorderly conduct and interfering with an officer.

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Farrigon was arraigned Friday in Superior Court in Hartford, where Judge Ann Lynch set his bail at $300,000.

Prosecutor Michael Weber argued for a high bond. “There is a concern about public safety,” he said.

Public defender Johanna Canning asked for a lower bail and told the judge that Ferrigon maintains his innocence.

Police said Ferrigon, who is 6 feet tall and 385 pounds, walked up to his 30-year-old neighbor who was sitting in her car on Mitchell Drive in the southeast corner of town. He opened the unlocked door, sat in the front passenger seat and told her he “loved her, wanted to have her [sexually] and wanted to marry her,” police said.

When she started to get out of the car, he grabbed her wrist and continued making the same types of statements, this time by shouting, police said. The woman became frightened and started beeping the car horn, causing relatives to come out of the house.

The woman was able to break free and run into the house, but Ferrigon followed her, police said. The woman’s father confronted Ferrigon, and the two men wrestled.

During the struggle, the father yelled to the wife to get his gun and she retrieved his pistol, which fired twice into the air, police said. The father told Ferrigon he didn’t want to have to shoot him, and Ferrigon returned to his own yard.

Police were called, and when officers arrived, they found Ferrigon in his driveway. He refused to comply with the officers’ commands, police said.

An officer took out a Taser but didn’t have to use it, police said, as Ferrigon did what they told him to do.

After consulting with prosecutors, police did not charge the woman’s father for firing his gun.

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The judge ordered mental health and medical watches for Ferrigon at the Department of Correction, and ordered him to stay away from the woman and her home. He is due back in court Nov. 9.